Aww... It’s a cute baby dragon. It seems rather lazy.

And look! It’s gotten much larger and grown wings! It must be close to maturing.

Young dragons are relatively defenseless. They are born with relatively soft scales, which are shed and replaced with harder ones as the hatchling matures. Once a hatchling’s wings grow in, it typically marks the beginning of maturation. At this point they are often capable of hunting on their own and are usually left alone by their mother.

Even as a hatchling, Royal the Polt showed bossy and vain behavior, as is common of his breed. No dragon stood higher than him, even when he was small. Nothing impressed him except large tribute. Until Scarlet came along. She was a strange royal crimson, humble, generous, quiet. Normally, she would be an outcast of society,  but there was something about her. He was in love. Love, of all things. He welcomed her into his lair and made her an honored guest, something that had never been done before. It was strange, trying to impress her by being sweet and kind when he had never thought of being such things. It remains undetermined whether she will accept him, but it looks like a yes.